


Birthday Girl

by lynndyre



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community: areyougame, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, M/M, Platonic Sugar Daddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2013-05-22
Packaged: 2017-12-12 16:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/813556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynndyre/pseuds/lynndyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Anise's birthday, Peony and Jade take her out for the evening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Girl

Jade was a meanie, taking as much time as he could coming down the stairs. They were supposed to be leaving soon, going out for dinner at a fancy (expensive!) restaurant, and then to a show at a proper theater, the kind you dressed up for. Anise made a valiant effort not to ruin her hairdo by bouncing impatiently. Probably she was being more careful than she needed to - the air in the bathroom had barely been breathable once Natalia finished spraying it into place - but right now it looked _perfect_. And Anise wanted everything to be as perfect as it possibly could. 

Peony arrived to pick them up precisely at 6:30, for once with a company car rather than his motorcycle. Anise did bounce on her way to answer the door, skirt fluffing out slightly despite her attempts to pat it into order. Peony bowed over her hand - each nail perfectly, purply polished- and presented her with a single dark pink rose.

“How’s the birthday girl? Ready to experience the high life?”

Jade tutted. “What, no flowers for me?”

“I don’t like you enough.” Peony grinned, and Anise giggled as she grabbed Jade with her free hand and dragged both men out the front door.

***

They were finishing dinner when Peony gave her a little box, wrapped with a silver bow.

The earrings were beautiful – little flowers with petals that were real gemstones- they sparkled so bright, but Anise looked at them and all of a sudden she wasn’t light anymore, her insides were all heavy. Why couldn’t they have pretended for just a little longer?

She couldn’t look at Mr Peony, or Jade either, so she just stared at the earrings until all the little reflections started to blur. 

“I can’t- if they’re mine, I have to sell them. My- my parents need the money.” She swiped her hand across her eyes, but one of the tears made a dark splotch on the velvet of the jewelry box.

“I want them- I really want them, I want all of this, but I can’t-“ She sniffed hard, and scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, but her skin came away streaked, Natalia’s makeup must be running. She reached for her napkin, but Peony pressed his handkerchief into her hand. “I’m s-sorry.” 

The little box snapped closed way too loud, and she clutched at it, grabbed her tiny handbag too. "Excuse me." She didn't run, didn't let herself, didn't look at anyone. The ladies room was huge, with mosaic tiles and warm lights and a carpeted room with a little sofa, and she pulled her feet up underneath her and buried her dripping nose in the handkerchief until the crying stopped.

The sinks had gold faucets and handles, but the hand soap smelled the same as at school, and she scrubbed her face dry on paper hand towels. After a minute, she took out the little box again, pushed the little flowers through her ears instead of her training studs. They shone.

Someone knocked on the outer door, and Peony's voice was low, calling her name. Anise peaked around the door reluctantly. "I look all smudgy and gross."

Peony gave her a once-over, appraising. "Nope, don't see any gross. And all the smudges washed off."

Anise booed. "So did all the makeup. And it's Natalia's, and I don't have anything to redo it with."  
"Ah, well, there I might be able to help." Peony produced two thin tubes from his pocket with a little flourish. One was dark eyeliner, the other a lip-gloss. "It's not much, but our skin-tones are close enough, I think." 

Anise scrubbed both hands over her cheeks to make them pinker. It was going to take a lot of work, growing up into the kind of woman who could get guys like Mr Peony. But Anise was lucky, she had them to practice on. 

She took a deep breath, pushed out all the little-girl wanting to cry. "Will you do my eyes?"

Anise stood against the wall, cold through the back of her dress, and tried not to move her eyelids. The eyeliner felt weird, tracing the edges of her eyelashes, and Peony's pinky was warm where he braced it against her cheek. He finished the second eye, then went back to retouch the corner of the first. "Okay, then. Want to see how I did?"

Anise applied the lipgloss herself, leaning forward over the wide countertop to get close enough to the mirror. When she came out again Peony gave her an approving look and let her lead the way back to their table. The waiter was hovering as they took their seats again, and looked sort of afraid of Jade.

“Would you care to see our dessert menu?” 

Peony inclined his head to Anise, leaving the decision up to her. The little voice in the back of her head that sounded like her parents, like her pastor, said ‘don’t be greedy, give thanks for what you’ve already received’. 

“Yes, please.”

The waiter nodded and vanished, and Peony smiled at her, and she felt light inside- free. They didn’t care if she wanted things. Even this once, she got to be one of the shiny people. 

Jade reached a hand across the table, paper folded between his fingers. "You forgot the rest of your presents."

Anise unfolded it halfway, and froze at the blank line, with its printed label 'Endorse Here'. For a second her face was hot again, then she folded it back up, slid it into her tiny purse, and slipped out of her seat to hug him as tight as she could. When she finally let go he was smiling too, without any tease in it at all.

The dessert menu was full of beautiful words and foreign pastries, but Anise picked strawberries and cake, and Peony got the same. Jade didn’t order any dessert, only pretended to notice his sister on the other side of the room and stole Peony’s strawberry with his coffee spoon. Anise laughed with her mouth full of cake.


End file.
